Chapter 113: Manifestations Emerge

"Everyone, do not panic! First-rate experts, gather to my side. We are so many in number—are we truly to be afraid of these monsters?"

Chu Qian began to organize the wandering martial arts heroes, using the Chu Mountain Sect as a foundation.

"All disciples of the Lingfeng Mountain, take heed! Prepare the Seven-Star Demon-Extinguishing Formation."

It was the voice of Fairy Feng. At this moment, the disciples of Lingfeng Mountain had already formed ring after ring of sword formations, centered around her and the Taoist Qingxu. All these formations were linked together by the two of them, ultimately coalescing into one massive, formidable sword array.

"Martial Alliance experts, take orders! Spread out into attack formation!"

That was the command of Zhou Ba.

"All you brats of the Black Fiend Legion, pay attention! Form the Black Fiend Chain Formation and slaughter anyone who is not part of the Black Fiend Legion."

Black Giant Spirit gave a grim laugh. Watching the skeletons rampaging through his sector, he let out a sudden roar, and his body swelled as if inflated by air, rapidly growing into a red-haired giant over thirty feet tall.

"Big Brother, catch!"

The Four Fiends of Black Blood, from who knows where, hoisted a massive shield and tossed it directly to Black Giant Spirit.

Black Giant Spirit then retrieved a colossal black blade from the supplies guarded by the Black Fiend Legion. Armed with the giant shield and blade, he plunged into the battlefield alone, intercepting the peerless skeleton assassin that had been wielding a death scythe.

Relying on his immense brute strength, although Black Giant Spirit was forced back step by step by the massive skeleton, he was supported by his dense, pitch-black aura of ten thousand beasts, and he was in no immediate mortal danger.

"Quickly slaughter the bystanders, then you and I shall go to aid Brother Giant Spirit."

The Black Widow pressed her ten fingers together and pulled them apart, drawing five fine threads from her hands as if she were spinning silk. After wrapping them around her fingers, her fair hands were dyed completely jet-black—this was her signature weapon, the Thousand Spider Ten Thousand Poison Hands.

After giving a few instructions to the Four Fiends of Black Blood, the Black Widow lunged into the fray, joining Black Giant Spirit to block the giant skeleton.

The Four Fiends of Black Blood led the Black Fiend Legion in a frenzied slaughter of the surrounding bystanders. To clear the battlefield for the final resolution against the skeleton, any martial artist who could not dodge in time died not at the hands of the skeletons, but as souls under the blades of the Black Fiend Legion.

In another direction, Zhou Ba, wielding a pair of black maces, and the bald old man, whose stature had suddenly elongated and become as gaunt as a skeleton, joined forces to entangle another skeleton.

This skeleton was also no weakling, but the strength of Zhou Ba's aura was likely not inferior to that of Black Giant Spirit. With the addition of the veteran expert, the bald old man, it was difficult to tell for a moment who held the upper hand.

After a few moments of battle, several distinct fighting groups had formed. Aside from those already mentioned, Chu Qian and Tie Wudi had also trapped a skeleton and were working with the experts of the Chu Mountain Sect to inflict minor wounds upon it. The Seven-Star Demon-Extinguishing Formation, formed by Fairy Feng and the Taoist Qingxu, had also ensnared a skeleton, and judging by the situation, they held the absolute upper hand; it was estimated that they would accumulate enough of an advantage to slay the creature before long.

Perhaps everyone had naturally ignored the most formidable skeleton, or perhaps the major sects had intentionally or unintentionally avoided it—the giant leader-skeleton transformed from Jiang Nansheng. As a result, this titan was left to the remaining unaffiliated martial artists.

This was truly a case of a tiger among sheep. The scattered forces of the unaffiliated martial artists could not stop Jiang Nansheng for even a moment, and in a short time, they were being slaughtered in a panic.

If it weren't for the many individuals among the unaffiliated who were "playing the pig to eat the tiger," Jiang Nansheng would likely have crushed this entire crowd—the largest group on the stage—in less than a quarter of an hour.

At this moment, Hu San had retreated to the very edge of the stage, near the area controlled by the Black Fiend Legion. Perhaps it was because the bystander sees more clearly, but Hu San noticed that as the death toll rose, the strength of the five skeletons—which had stopped growing—began to increase again. Chief among them was the leader, Jiang Nansheng.

The sweeping strikes of his terrifying giant scythe were now accompanied by flickers of white flame. It was unclear what these flames were composed of, but once they touched a martial artist, not only would their flesh be incinerated, but even their weapons would be reduced to ash. Only those at the level of first-rate experts, utilizing their aura to the fullest, could barely resist them.

But if things continued this way, it would not be long before all the first-rate experts were dead and everyone else had been cut down to the last person.

What surprised Hu San even more was that, amidst the chaos, Shen Fang of the "Heaven's End, Bright Moon Blade," who should have been fighting the skeletons, had vanished. Not only Shen Fang, but the mysterious old man in white who had been with him was gone as well, as if they had never appeared on the stage at all.

"How could this be?"

A flash of horror crossed his eyes. Hu San didn't dare to overthink it; he hurriedly rolled to dodge a scythe strike from Jiang Nansheng. Pressing his arms against the ground, he exerted great force and, just before the pale flames could scorch his body, he scampered like a rabbit back into the terrified crowd of scattered warriors.

"Brothers, we cannot go on like this! It is clear that the major sects are using us as pawns. If we do not unite, I fear none of us will escape death today. All friends who have reached the level of peak experts, please stop hiding. If we want to survive today, we must give it our all!"

At this critical juncture, a sturdy, stout man emerged from the panicked crowd of heroes. He held a massive iron hammer, wore blue hard armor, and a hawk-crested helmet. If one ignored his rotund belly, he looked quite like a formidable hero of the martial world.

Standing beside him were two men holding blades. The two looked identical and held identical long blades, though one held his in his left hand and the other in his right, looking as if they were reflections of each other in a mirror.

"So it is Fatty and the Yin-Yang Blade, the Mou brothers! Huang pays his respects!"

The appearance of these three forced the other experts who had been hiding to no longer hold back. They knew clearly that once the ordinary first-rate experts were slaughtered, even if they could temporarily hold off Jiang Nansheng, they would have no path to survival—not to mention the four major sects lurking on the sidelines.

As he spoke, a man dressed like a wealthy landowner in yellow robes, wielding a large curved blade, stepped out from the crowd. It was none other than Huang Shan, the Great Master of the Crouching Tiger Manor!

Following not far behind him were two other men also dressed in yellow, both of them peak experts: Huang Zhong, the Second Master, and Huang Meng, the Third Master of the Crouching Tiger Manor.

"We are at this point now; there is no need to hide anything anymore. Since Fatty and the three brothers of the Crouching Tiger Manor have appeared, Old Blind Man, what are you still hiding for?"

A woman with a look of alarm on her face suddenly parted the crowd and stepped out, swaying gracefully with a willow-like waist.

"Haha, Mother Liu, you finally couldn't hold back. Ke thought you would endure until the very end."

An elderly man dressed as a beggar, stooped and holding an iron staff, walked slowly out of the crowd. Those who recognized him bowed respectfully, and those who did not, upon learning his identity, could not help but show awe. This was none other than the leader of the Beggar Sect, "Iron Beggar" Ke Yifei, renowned throughout the martial world for his chivalry.

The woman was no simple figure either; she was Liu Shengnan, the legendary mistress of the Big Willow Manor. She was a figure caught between righteousness and evil, acting entirely on whim, and she was also the mortal enemy of Iron Beggar Ke Yifei.

"Greetings, Sect Leader Ke. Fatty has shown himself first, so I will spare the pleasantries. You have all seen the situation. We old folks will step forward to hold the line first. Afterward, I ask Sect Leader Ke to help organize the rest. Even if we cannot form a military formation, we must at least pose some threat to that skeleton. The Beggar Sect is famous for its formations; surely this should not be difficult for you, Sect Leader?"

Fatty waved his hand, cutting off the Iron Beggar. At this point, he cared nothing for past grievances; surviving this crisis was the only priority.

"Fatty, rest assured. This old blind man knows what is important!"

The Iron Beggar nodded, and Liu Shengnan snorted coldly but did not continue to bicker with him.

Everything prepared, and before Jiang Nansheng could continue his slaughter, a battle formation led by Fatty and Huang Shan, supported by the Yin-Yang Blade brothers and the two masters of the Crouching Tiger Manor, and centered around Liu Shengnan, charged into the fray to block Jiang Nansheng’s path of carnage.

After a few simple exchanges, Hu San noticed that these people were well-versed in cooperative combat techniques. Combined with the fact that the strength of Fatty, Huang Shan, and Liu Shengnan was not far off from that of Black Giant Spirit, their coordination actually managed to hold the invincible Jiang Nansheng at bay for the time being.

Taking advantage of this, the Iron Beggar began to organize the heroes into the "Dog-Beating Formation," the most widely spread yet often considered useless formation of the Beggar Sect.

However, with the super-expert Iron Beggar as its core, the formation regained its true power. Within a few breaths, the chaotic situation had been completely reversed.

The formation completely enveloped Jiang Nansheng. Once Fatty and the others were integrated into the formation by the Iron Beggar, the situation on the field shifted. Although Jiang Nansheng possessed extraordinary brute strength and his white flames were razor-sharp, under the pressure of the formation and the full-force strikes of several experts, he was forced into a defensive posture.

Furthermore, on the other side, the giant skeleton trapped in the Seven-Star Demon-Extinguishing Formation of the Lingfeng Mountain was failing. Under the frantic assault of Fairy Feng and the Taoist Qingxu, one of its legs had been completely severed, severely limiting its mobility, forcing it to resist in place. It could be said that since the battle began, the human side finally had hope of victory.

Yet, Hu San did not relax. He remained cautiously observing his surroundings, timing his movements to avoid the skeletons' strikes. There were many martial arts heroes on the field, and likewise, many who had not joined the Dog-Beating Formation; Hu San was one of them.

Ever since Shen Fang and the old man in white had mysteriously disappeared, Hu San felt as though an invisible pair of eyes were watching the stage. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to draw any attention to himself.